Representing the country of birth or where they grow up should be one of the greatest honours for any football player, or at least it used to be back in time. Over time players are getting less excited at the chances of being a part of the National Team, but it’s not the case for everybody including the newly capped Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The Everton forward had a perfect debut this past week when he headed a ball into the net during a 3-0 win over Wales. Certainly, he wasn’t the first to do that.
So, we are going to take a look at 5 of the best International Debuts over time:
Marcus Rashford -
When Marcus Rashford burst into the scene at Old Trafford in 2016, the striker had this knack of scoring on every debut imaginable. Scoring a brace in his first senior start, another in a Europa League match against Midtjylland, before bagging another two against Arsenal on his Premier League debut just three days later.
Starting against Australia in a Euro 2016 warm-up game, Rashford found the net via a low driven volley, becoming the youngest England international to score on the debut and third youngest overall. He went to play in the Euro as well.
Harry Kane -
In March 2015, with the season drawing to a close, Harry Kane was in one of his best forms with 29 goals under his name for the Spurs side. It was inevitable that he wouldn’t be called up to the National Team. England was up 2-0 against Lithuania when Kane was brought on for Wayne Rooney with just 18 minutes to go. Within just 79 seconds into the game, Kane headed the ball home from a cross by Raheem Sterling.
“I'm just proud,” he said. “A dream comes true. It's a special night and one I won't forget. It's what you dream of as a kid, it's a bit of a daze and enjoying every minute of it.”
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Zinedine Zidane -
France had underperformed in the games leading to the FIFA World Cup 1994, and were not able to qualify. Thus, they embarked on their quest for redemption under new manager Aimé Jacquet. The Les Bleus were down 2-0 against the Czech and thus the 22-year-old Playmaker was brought into the game.
For the first, he beat a man with one of his classy stepovers, before rifling the ball into the goal from 25 yards out. Still unfinished, he went on to head home a ball from a corner thus getting the score to 2-2.
Miroslav Klose -
The record goalscorer for Germany has scored many memorable goals in his time, but it’s his first that deserves mentioning. In March 2001, the German forward was brought on with 17 minutes left on the clock in a World Cup qualifier against Albania, with whom they were drawing 1-1. Losing at home to Albania would be a disaster, so the manager took a hard decision of bringing in Klose. In the 87th minute, the Kaiserslautern striker scored the winner with a diving header to help get one step closer to the 2002 World Cup.
Rickie Lambert -
Not as illustrious as many of the other names on this list but Lambert's international debut was still one of the most memorable in recent England history. Receiving the call up at the age of 31 whilst his 2nd season at the top flight, it was a chance for Lambert which he couldn’t miss.
Being subbed in for Rooney, Lambert thumped the ball home to make it 3-2 up against Scotland before the final whistle. It was also his first touch for the Three Lions.
Lambert went to play ten times more and netting thrice in the process.
